Asian chemical shares tumbled in early trade on Friday

August 19/2011

(ICIS) -- Asian chemical shares tumbled in
early trade on Friday, weighed by recession fears in the US and fresh concerns
over the health of European banks. A plunge in a US mid-Atlantic factory
activity survey by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank spooked financial
markets as the data is viewed as a barometer of national manufacturing.

The result marked the weakest reading since early 2009, according to the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia in a research note on Friday. A fall in US home
sales in July also stoked worries that the US economic recovery could stall and
slide into a recession.

A dip in European markets on Thursday fanned further concerns over the
economic health of the region. Banks led the fall after a report that US
regulators are stepping up scrutiny of the local operations for Europe’s largest
banks on concerns the sovereign debt crisis may lead to funding issues, said UBS
Wealth Management Research in a note.